1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a system for cooling portions of a cooking appliance, preferably utilizing natural, unforced convection to provide a flow of air used to keep certain portions of the cooking appliance at appropriate temperatures in order to protect control and/or wiring components of the appliance from overheating.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In general, it is fairly common to provide a system to cool a domestic oven or the like so that the exterior of the oven is safe to touch during operation of the oven and to further protect various control components and instruments from extreme heat. This condition can be particularly important in pyrolytic self-cleaning ovens. Such ovens are designed to reach rather extreme temperatures, such as in the order of 400.degree. C., in order to effect proper cleaning by incineration of grease and other food stuff which normally accumulates on the oven walls through routine use. Even at lower operating temperatures, the back and sides of the oven may be close to certain wiring, other appliances, cabinetry, etc. such that protecting these other elements is desired.
Prior art ovens have often relied upon forced air cooling systems for controlling the exterior temperatures. Such forced air cooling systems have also been used to protect the various instruments and controllers present in a typical domestic oven from extreme heat. However, all such forced air cooling systems have particular cost and reliability concerns. Specifically, the fan, its motor and associated controls add to the expense of the overall appliance and, often times, represent another reliability concern. To avoid the problems of using a forced air cooling system in an oven, U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,718 proposes to use a convection cooling system in a pryolytic self-cleaning type range. While the '718 patent does address the main problems associated with using a cooling fan in an oven by eliminating the fan altogether and using a convection driven air cooling system, the patented arrangement is only designed to cool the front and top of an oven. Therefore, no provision is made within the patent for cooling the bottom or back of the range unit. Often, several electrical components are located on the back of an oven, such as, for example, the connection for the electrical power cord etc.
Actually, one regulated design parameter for an electrical cooking appliance concerns assuring that the wiring of the appliance is well protected from exposure to extreme temperatures. In a domestic range, the oven cavity is typically spaced from a supporting surface by a lower storage drawer. This vertical spacing provides a significant amount of area in the lower back portion of the appliance for attachment of wiring for the appliance. More specifically, the internal wiring for baking and broiling elements of the range is capable of being exposed to rather high temperatures, but the plug-in cord for the range needs to be connected to the range in a zone which is maintained relatively cool.
There has now been introduced into the market a range incorporating upper and lower ovens. While such a range provides certain versatility advantages over a conventional range having only a single oven cavity, the dual oven arrangement means that room for the lower drawer is no longer present and the connection zone for the plug-in cord is arranged adjacent at least one oven cavity so as to be, at least potentially, exposed to higher temperatures.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art of cooking appliances for a cooling system which can cool certain portions of an appliance by providing for a flow of air across or adjacent these portions. In addition, there exists a need for a cooling system for a cooking appliance which relies on natural convection of cooling air in order to avoid the need for any type of forced air system.